Video poker strategy, from first principles

Every video poker hand has exactly 32 possible holds, and each has a computable expected value — optimal strategy is simply choosing the highest one every time. On a 9/6 Jacks or Better paytable that discipline returns 99.5439%; the same discipline on an 8/5 machine returns 97.2984%. Rule zero: pick the paytable before you pick the strategy. Practice with exact EV →

The three rules that carry 95% of the value

1. Paytable first. The gap between 9/6 and 8/5 Jacks or Better is 2.25% — larger than the cost of every strategy mistake a trained player makes in a year. Check the full house / flush numbers before sitting down.

2. Always max coins. The royal pays 800:1 only at 5 coins (250:1 below). Short-coining raises the house edge by roughly 1.4% — if 5 coins is too much, drop a denomination instead.

3. Never keep a kicker — except where the paytable pays for it (Double Double Bonus quads). This is the classic example of why strategy is per-paytable, not universal: see the engine-computed flip.

Per-game strategy

Jacks or Better — the foundation; learn it first. · Deuces Wild — wild-card logic, organized by deuces dealt. · Double Double Bonus — kicker math and volatility.

Where the return actually comes from

Under optimal 9/6 JoB play, high pairs and two pair supply over half of all coins returned, while the royal — for all its glamour — contributes just under 2% of total return. That's why mistakes on boring hands (low pair vs. 4-flush) cost more per year than royal-chase errors: they happen five thousand times as often.